Teacher killed in crash, her two children hurt

Thursday

Apr 11, 2013 at 3:15 AMApr 11, 2013 at 2:10 PM

BERWICK, Maine — A mother traveling on Route 4 Wednesday with her two young children was killed in a head-on collision with a 17-year-old driver. Amy Harris, 34, who was a special-education teacher at the Vivian E. Hussey School in Berwick, died Wednesday morning in the accident.

By Christina Higginbothamchigginbotham@fosters.com

BERWICK, Maine — A mother traveling on Route 4 Wednesday with her two young children was killed in a head-on collision with a 17-year-old driver.

Amy Harris, 34, who was a special-education teacher at the Vivian E. Hussey School in Berwick, died Wednesday morning in the accident. Her two children, Lucas, 7, and Abbie, 4, were riding in the car with her and were both injured. The children were transported to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital with “serious injuries” and one was then flown to a Boston hospital for further evaluation, according to Police Capt. Jerry Locke.

At 8 a.m., the Berwick Police department responded to the fatal motor vehicle accident. Police have not yet confirmed Harris was killed in the crash, but a notice posted on the School Administrative District 60 website said she was the victim who died.

Harris was in her third year teaching at Vivian E. Hussey School, her son is a second-grader there.

“It's terribly tragic. As a parent, the things you want to see your kids do and to celebrate with. Through the good and bad, you want to be there. You can't even stand to think about this,” MSAD 60 Superintendent Steven Connolly said Wednesday.

Connolly was informed early Wednesday morning there was an accident and a staff member was involved. He was recently told it was Harris, a woman who graduated from Noble High School.

“She was a Noble kid. People were so excited she came back to teach in the area she grew up in,” Connolly said.

Harris' mother owns Salmon Falls Nursery and her father owns Salmon Falls Landscaping, two separate entities, just up the road from the crash scene.

According to the MSAD 60 district website, grief counselors will be at the Hussey School today from 9 to 11 a.m. to help any student, staff, or parents that may need help dealing with the tragedy.

The Vivian E. Hussey School and Knowlton School will both be closed today as students and staff mourn the death of the beloved teacher. The notice posted on the SAD 60 website offers some details to the public:

“Dear Noble Families,

It is with deep regret that I inform you about a loss to our school community. This morning Amy Harris, a Special Education teacher at Vivian E. Hussey School was killed in an automobile accident.

Amy is a former Noble graduate. Her stepfather Jon Appleby works at NHS. Her father, Mr. Pendergast, owns Salmon Falls Landscape, and her mother, Christine, owns Salmon Falls Nursery. Amy is survived by her husband, Sam, son Lucas, a second-grader at Hussey and her daughter, Abbie. Lucas has been transported by ambulance to Mass General.

There will be no school tomorrow at Knowlton or Hussey. A crisis support team will be available from 9 to 11 AM at Hussey for staff and families. Representatives from the Center for Grieving Children will be on hand to assist school counselors and social workers.

Thank you to building administrators for sending staff members to provide coverage for Knowlton and Hussey staff members.”

Police say a 17-year-old from Biddeford was traveling south on Route 4 and appeared to have been in the northbound lane, then struck the tan SUV vehicle being operated by Harris.

A third vehicle was involved in the crash, which swerved off the roadway into a ditch to avoid the accident; this vehicle had no significant damage according to Locke. Blood tests were taken from both operators of the vehicles.Mutual aid remained at the scene for more than six hours including: Berwick Police Department, Berwick and South Berwick Fire Department, American Medical Response, South Berwick Rescue and Saco Police Department.

The accident remains under investigation by Detective William Russell and Officer Milton Fogg of the Berwick Police Department.

Anyone with information regarding the accident is asked to the call the Berwick Police Department at 207-698-1136 or w.Russell@berwickpd.org.